A Silent Castle
by Cerii-chan
Summary: [Rated PG for censored minor cursing] Remus has gone and saved Hogsmeade from Voldemort, and now he's being accused! Join him as he finds out who his true friends are. This is my 1st fanfic, so please R&R!
1. In Which An Innocent Man Is Accused

Author's Note: Yo, my peeps, this is my first fanfic ever! It's not very good I know, but please, read and review! I need to get waaaay better if I'm gonna compete with Bishoujo Osaka. It's a Moony fanfic (actually dedicated to my friend Moony) so please, constructive criticism!

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**In Which An Innocent Man Is Accused**

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_Damn, _thought Moony, racing down the floor of the corridor. _Damn damn damn damn damn. _He skidded to a stop in front of a statue of a gargoyle and started shouting at it, kicking it in frustration. "Lemon drop! Cockroach Cluster, Acid Pop, Chocolate Frog! Bertie Botts', Fizzing Whizbee, Peppermint Square!" he shouted.

"Remus Lupin!" said a stern voice from down the corridor. Minerva McGonagall was striding toward him, mouth stretched into a tight line. "Remus Lupin!" she said again. "You are no longer a teacher in this school, you have no right to go rampaging into the Headmaster's office, disrupting classes. O.W.L.S. are coming up, Remus! Dumbledore is very busy, what with Order business and whatnot…"

"This is Order business!" he bellowed. "He's gone and done it! We've got to get there before Ministry officials do—"

"Get where?" interrupted McGonagall, looking severely down at him through her spectacles.

"Hogsmeade! He's gone and done it, twenty-six dead, shops destroyed! You-Know-Who has gone and attacked Hogsmeade! _Twenty-six dead,_ Minerva! Twenty six!"

"Voldemort?" she asked, staring at him in disdain with piercing eyes, ignoring his slight flinch. "I highly doubt that, Remus. You must have misheard a piece of gossip and been gullible enough to believe it—"

"No, no you don't understand!" he shouted, exasperated. "I was there! I Apparated back, just outside Hogwarts grounds, I was there! I fought him! Let me see Dumbledore!"

She looked at him for a moment, studied his stubborn features and shabby clothes, his slightly crooked nose and his deep blue eyes, and gave in. "All right," she agreed. "We'll see if your story is true." She turned to the gargoyle. "Ear wax," she said, and stood back as the gargoyle sprang to life and jumped aside, revealing a narrow set of winding stairs. "Follow me," she stated curtly, leading the way.

Moony followed her, trying to catch his breath. He looked at the pictures on the walls, surprised to see that they hadn't changed from when he was a boy, and sent to the Headmaster's office with Prongs, Padfoot and Wormtail for various pranks and mischievousness. Wormtail. His slight smile quickly dropped from his face as he heard the name. Wormtail was the cause of all this, for the death of James and Sirius and Lily, the recent raid on Hogsmeade, even the death of Moony's own sister, Layla. His heart slumped at the thought of Layla, and he silently swore to himself that he would kill Wormtail, kill him like he should have done that night in the Shrieking Shack, kill him like he killed Layla…

Professor McGonagall's voice quickly cut through his thoughts. "Professor Dumbledore," she said shortly. "Professor Dumbledore, Remus says—"

"I know what Remus says, Minerva," cut in Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling through his half moon spectacles, his long, wrinkled fingers pressed against each other in a diamond. "I may not be all that I used to be, but my ears have not gone so far as not to hear you two arguing like schoolchildren just outside my doorway."

Professor McGonagall flushed, and for the first time, looked rather afraid. "Is it true, then, Dumbledore?" she asked. "Has he really attacked Hogsmeade?"

Dumbledore's amused expression quickly vanished, and he stared up at her gravely. "I'm afraid it is, Minerva. I'm afraid it is."

Minerva stiffened, then quickly said, "I'll alert the rest of the Order. Remus, go back to Grimmauld Place. Moody will meet you there shortly and tell you what to do." With that, she left.

Remus looked at Dumbledore expectantly. Dumbledore nodded, his wizened face showing no sign of expression. Sighing, Moony walked out of the room and descended down the steep stairs, wondering what would happen next.

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Remus paced back and forth in the living room of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. He checked his watch. 11:34 PM. His patience was wearing thin. He had been beaten by merciless wind and rain and Alastor Moody on the way here, and he still had not learned anything. Because he was one of the younger Order members, he was not allowed to go on most of the important missions. Not that he usually minded. Who'd want to go out onto a life-threatening mission with so many years to go in your life and so little help you could give? But now? Now, when he had taken on the Dark Lord alone. Now, when he had finally been the hero and warned everyone about the dreadful terror in time. Now, when he had seen all those deaths…

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_Remus walked among the empty streets of Hogsmeade. The carnage was horrible. Various witches and wizards lay on the paved stones, bloody. There were even some Hogwarts students—he shuddered—that he _recognized._ There was Pansy Parkinson, Blaise Zabini, and… He stopped. Percy Weasley. His glasses lay askew, the lenses shattered, the shards of glass catching the dim gray light that was scattered through the town. A thin trickle of blood ran down to the gravel from just below his chin, where a gash ruptured the vein in his neck. Remus trembled. Percy Weasley, the ever-present, arrogant, superior Percy Weasley, dead…_

_A shock jolted through Remus' body. Evil pricked at his skin, grabbing hold of his heart in the blackness of fear. He fumbled through his robes for his wand, searching frantically. A harsh, high voice spoke two words from just behind him._

_"Kill him."_

_Remus' werewolf instinct told him to duck, and he did so, dropping onto the rough ground just as a hot beam of red light whizzed past his shoulder. He felt the presence of death, and opened his eyes. He was staring into the blank, lifeless face of Dumbledore._

_He screamed out in agony, covering his eyes, a bolt of heat rushing through his body. No, not Dumbledore, Dumbledore wouldn't do that, not Dumbledore…_

_Behind him, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named chuckled cruelly. "His fear is playing tricks on him, Wormtail. What say we… torture him?"_

_"Y-y-yes, m-master," said a small voice. "Excellent I-idea, sir. N-never had a better one."_

_"Stop your groveling, Wormtail," he said impatiently. He twirled his wand between his fingers, then pointed it at the figure in front of him. "Crucio," he hissed._

_Remus shivered, the pain dulling his senses, not aware that he was screaming._

_"Yes, yes," said the cold voice. He flicked his wand, and Remus was kneeling in front of him. "Now bow!" he commanded._

_Remus dully shook his head, struggling to stay upright._

_"I said _bow!" _Remus felt his spine bend of its own accord._

_Voldemort laughed quietly. "Soon, even Dumbledore will be bowing to me. Although he is hiding, he will soon be bowing. Soon all of the Light Side will be bowing to me, or at least what's left."_

_"Yes, master, very much so!"_

_"Quiet, Wormtail. You, Remus John Lupin of the Order of the Phoenix—yes, yes, I have my share of spies," he said, chuckling at the surprised expression on Moony's face. "I have my share of spies. You shall see that soon." He lifted his wand, and Remus was thrown into the air, hovering there._

_Remus was dimly aware of two things: He was slowly turning upside down, and Ministry sirens were approaching._

_Voldemort spat disgustedly. "I'll be leaving now. You shall be left alive, Remus John Lupin. Pass on my message. Voldemort is back, and he is after the Order." With that, he disappeared, and Remus crumpled to the ground, breathing heavily. One thing echoed in his mind._

_I must tell Dumbledore…_

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Alastor Moody came bursting in through the back door of Number 12 Grimmauld Place, his magical eye spinning every which way. "Remus!" he growled. Remus spun toward him Moony thrust a wet and sopping _Daily Prophet _at him, of which Remus could barely read the headline in the dim kitchen light.

_Remus Lupin Accused of Hogsmeade Homicide._

Remus read it again, sure he had made a mistake. But it still said the same thing.

_Remus Lupin Accused of Hogsmeade Homicide._

Shaking, he read the rest of the article.

_Remus Lupin, age 32, has been accused of murdering 47 people at Hogsmeade at 4:37 this evening, 26 of them Hogwarts students. Ministry officials say they caught a glimpse of him Dissapparating next to the bloody body of Percy Weasley, looking shaken. Hogwarts seventh year student Draco Malfoy says 'I heard his running through the hall and cursing around 5 o'clock, and he fought with Professor McGonagall.' A price has been put over his head for 50,000 Galleons, dead or alive._

Moony watched him. "Fifty thousand Galleons, eh? Whaddaya say about that?" he asked gruffly.

"_I _did this? I went out and killed forty six people?" Remus slammed the newspaper down of the table, furious.

"Now, now, no need for all this violence, eh… Where are you goin'?"

Remus had stomped out of the kitchen. He threw the front door open and marched outside, knocking over the troll's leg umbrella stand. Mrs. Black started her wailing upstairs.

"Oy, Moony, come back here! Where are you going?" Moody ran to the door. "Rem—oh, damn."

As Remus looked up into the sky, he froze. Chills ran up and down along his spine. As his nails hardened, and his teeth lengthened, three dimly thought words floated carelessly into his mind.

_The full moon…_

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Author's Note: So yeah, that's my fanfic! Please review! Please? begs I'll do anything!


	2. In Which A Sister Is Lost And Found And ...

Author's Note: Hehe, I put an original character in here, just for kicks. But the point is I wrote it. So there. READ AND REVIEW! READ AND REVIEW!

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**In Which A Sister Is Lost And Found And A Man Is Turned Into A Beast**

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A dark figure darted across an alleyway illuminated by soft moonlight, lazily bathing the dumpsters and bags of trash in a supple, idle light. A small kitten meowed pitifully, poking its head out of the sopping wet cardboard box that served as its only shelter. The figure threw it a sympathetic glance, but knew she could not stop. If she was to recover the lost Orb of Cloudy Premonition, she must do it in a timely, orderly fashion, with no straggling, deferring or procrastinating. She would pick up the cat later.

She looked up at the ivy wall that loomed up in front of her. Ten, fifteen feet high, strong, limber strands, rough surface, slightly serrated edges. She could climb this easily.

Twenty-seven years old, Knight Starr was quite skilled in the arts of stealth and thievery, having had to live in hiding for the past sixteen years of her life. She was not allowed to have contact with friends, family, or anybody else, making it hard to just walk into a store and ask for a job. Disguises were expensive without a wand.

But as she nimbly climbed the stone wall in the light of the full moon, she realized how lonely she had been for this decade and a half. How depressing it was to be isolated, talking to no one except Dumbledore, and that only a few times a month. She tossed a few strands of silvery brown hair out of her deep gray eyes, wishing she had a free hand to tie it back with.

She arrived at the top and perched on the wall, peering into the garden. Just as she had thought. The owners of this mansion that impended to her left were obviously paranoid. Guards patrolled between the unnaturally neat flower beds, occasionally lighting their wands with a spell she suddenly remembered as _Lumos._ And tied up in that far corner, pacing restlessly back and forth, was… A _dragon? _She scuttled across the wall to get a closer look. Yes, a dragon, a Hungarian Horntail if she remembered correctly, walking back and forth, occasionally snorting a plume of smoke out into the cool night air. She gasped. But keeping a dragon was illegal…

She suddenly remembered the task at hand, and forced her eyes and thoughts away from the dragon. She felt along the top of the wall with experienced, agile hands. Her fingers closed around something. A rock. A smile danced at her lips. How uncanny, and yet how perfect it was to find a rock up here, of all placed. She drew back her hand, and with a flick of her wrist, sent the rock sailing into the garden, landing with a muffled _thump _somewhere in the flower beds.

The guards immediately rushed toward the sound, shouting in a language she did not understand. They started searching through the flower beds, looking frantically for the object that had crashed into the flawlessly kept garden.

_Perfect, _Knight Starr thought with a wry smile on her face. She braced herself, then jumped, landing with a small echo in a patch of petunias.

Wincing, she suddenly realized why the flowers were so tidy. Every one of them was plastic. _Cheap nature killers, _she thought disgustedly to herself, mentally spitting at the owner's feet. She rose, throwing a silver material around her in the same motion. An Invisibility Cloak. She grinned, slowly making her way to the front of the garden, where the back door was slightly ajar. This mission was in the bag.

But as she stepped onto the paved patio, a hand suddenly clamped itself over her mouth. She gave a sort of stifled shriek. "Looking for something?" came a soft, dangerous voice in her ear, as a strong hand twisted her hands behind her back. He eyes turned to the person who had found her, and she found herself staring into the cold, hard blue eyes of none other than Lucius Malfoy.

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Remus Lupin stared up at the full moon, and blackness and pain seized his mind. He doubled over, gasping for breath, knowing nothing but horrible, suffocating darkness and the pain. The pain ripped through him, tearing out his heart and lungs, slicing him in half. He fell to the floor, hair starting to sprout on his body, his nails lengthening and hardening into claws, his nose broadening into a large snout.

Moody watched, horrified. "Dammit, Remus, not now, not now," he whispered. His magical eye was spinning frantically in its socket. Remus, who had been steadily transforming into a werewolf, now limply got up, stared at Moody for a second, and loped off into the dark, disappearing into the black streets.

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_Remus laughed as he tossed the giant inflated ball to Layla. "Catch!" he shouted cheerfully. She giggled, and laughed out loud as the weight of the ball knocked her over onto the soft grass. Remus ran over to her, shouting with glee. He helped her up, and together they picked up the ball again, commencing again with their game of catch._

_A shadow watched them from under the trees of the forest next to the field. "So these are the children of Ross and Luna Lupin. Excellent." He turned, and strode back into the trees, his mind already scheming, leaving the small children to their play._

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Remus staggered among the streets, his soul ragged, his mind half sane. He had taken the potion, but early, assuming (correctly) that he would not have time to take it later.

Memories, now, were lurching through his mind, flashing images. His father and mother, James, Sirius and Peter, Layla…

He lunged suddenly, and his jaws closed around something tough. An arm. A human arm. His stomach reeled as he heard the scream of a Muggle child scampering through the darkness, now laying limp on the ground. Horrified, he staggered back on his hind legs, and turned, whining, back into the darkness. Muggle sirens sounded not too far away. He lay down, curling his tail around him, suffocating in the blackness, slowly slipping away into unconsciousness.

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_Remus looked around the dark room. A wooden box sat in the middle, and all around it, people were kneeling. Some were crying. People kept coming in, and shaking his hand and his mother's hand and his father's hand. Then they looked inside the strange box. Remus' parents wouldn't let him look in the box. Layla wasn't there._

_"Momma," he whined, tugging on her sleeve, "where's Layla? I want Layla. I wanna go play with her. This is boring."_

_"I know, honey, I know," his mother said, hugging him to her. "Layla's… not here right now." Her voice cracked. "Okay, Remus, honey?"_

_"Okay…" said Remus doubtfully, leaning against her. "When will she be coming back?"_

_Luna Lupin squeezed his shoulder. "I don't know, Remy dear, I don't know."_

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Knight Starr struggled out of consciousness, trying to remember where she was, Suddenly, the evening's events came rushing back to her, and she opened her eyes, alarmed.

"Settle down," said Lucius Malfoy almost sweetly, standing over her, his wand pointed at her. "Now tell me, what is your name?"

She struggled to uncloud her thoughts. "Why?" she asked.

Lucius smiled. "Because I want to know, and you may be important. Besides, you can't resist."

She suddenly realized that her state of semi awareness was brought on by a potion. "Knight Starr," she mumbled.

"Oh, no, not _that _name. Your real name. Your birth name. What is it?"

She tried to remember for a moment. _It had been so long. _She grabbed it out of the air and said it thickly.

"Layla Lupin."

Lucius Malfoy's cruel smile broadened. "Excellent," he whispered, and was gone.

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Author's Note: HA! CHAPTER TWO! So there. I win. You lose. Mwah. Anyway, I have another fanfic all written out, but since I promised, I had to finish this first. Chapter three is not on the way yet, but will be! (n.n) See ya!


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